The War of Gods: Blood Strengthening
by tthorn
Summary: Sequel to Blood Awakening. Harry was now found the true extend of his powers and will begin to train among his father's enemies. Will they find him out and what is his friend, Luke, doing back down on Earth which will only cause more problems. Harry Potter/Avengers/Percy Jackson crossover
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Here is the second book of the Trilogy of the War of the Gods, the Blood Thickens. If you have not already read my first one The War of the Gods: Blood Awakens then I suggest you go and read it now, before you read this one.**

**Various characters in this will be a mixture of Norse Mythology and Marvel Avengers/Thor films. In terms of a timeline it is after Loki has been kicked out of Asgard but before Ragnarok. I decided to post this in the Avengers crossover because unlike the last one this will be mainly focused around the Norse aspect instead of the Greek before the two mix in the last of the three. **

* * *

Part 2: The Blood Thickens

Prelude

The arm that had him pinned against the wall was so unbelievably close to suffocating him that Harry began to tap against trying to warn the blonde giant of what was about to happen. It took him a couple of moments before Thor realised that Harry's head was turning blue and he removed his arm, allowing the demigod to slid to the floor gasping.

"Put your hands up slowly!" came the voice of the bartender.

The barrel of a shotgun was being pointed at Thor's head and the bartender was at the other end, looking determined at the God of Thunder. After he made sure that the god was staying still the barman turned to Harry.

"Are you alright, Mr Potter?" he waited for Harry to nod before he turned back to the blond hulking mass of muscle, "we don't know no Loki around 'ere but come into my bar again and I will let loose with this beauty here right at your face. Got it, blondie?"

A huge thunderclap sounded the god's fury and he looked like he was restraining himself from leaning over the bar, seizing the unfortunate barman and throttling him until he was dead. Harry shifted subtly until he got a good hold of his wand and then he adjusted his body so that he had a good aim.

"Stupify!" he whispered.

The jet of red light hit the barman square the head and the man toppled, his gun falling down on the bar with a thud of metal on wood before it slid down beside the man's unconscious body. Thor's eyes had widen when he saw the spell leave Harry's wand, not moving as Harry pulled himself to his feet and walked over to where the barman was slumped out cold on the ground. Kneeing next to the man Harry put his wand to the man's temple and checking that nobody was about to come into the bar oblivated him of all his memories of Harry. There was no need to give the Order any more help than they already had.

"A wizard," Thor said suspiciously from the other side of the bar, "it is a long time since we had seen one of your type. Even Heimdall has said that you have become hidden from his sight."

"We make good use of our magic," Harry grunted as he stood, "there he is going to remember neither me nor you, so we better get out of here soon before he wakes."

Thor nodded, "and where are you going now?"

Harry shrugged "I don't know, got some people I have got to hunt down but for the moment I think I might head south, go to London some things there I need to do."

"That thing you need to do is to do with the people you need to hunt," Thor guessed.

Harry nodded and started to collect his stuff, dropping off a couple of pounds on the bar to pay for his drink. Thor too prepared to leave.

"Fine," the God of Thunder said, "but before you leave, you and me are going to have a chat somewhere quiet were nobody can over hear us. The All-Father will want to hear news of our old allies and worshippers."

"No longer worshippers, I fear!" Harry grunted but acquiesced nevertheless.

Thor led Harry out of the village and they started down the road, the road which headed to the west of the village, passing through a salt marsh and boggy territory. The smell was horrible and Harry had to resist the urge to cast the bubblehead spell upon himself. Thor however did not seem to take in any of the foul smelling air about him instead choosing to focus his energy on finding out as much about wizards as he could.

"This Fidelius Charm worries me," he was going on, "the idea that something or someone can hide from even Heimdall is frightening and I am sure that my father will wish to know of it as soon as possible."

Harry noticed that the smell was beginning to get worse and worse, and less and less like that of a normal swamp. There was something else in it, something that smelt horrible even worse that of the smell of decaying matter normally present at such places.

Suddenly there was movement to Harry's left and he dived to the side, just in time to avoid a huge tree trunk that had been hurled from the middle of the swamp. Unsure where the attackers where, Harry crawled over to the log and hid behind it, glancing out from behind to get an idea of what was happening.

"Swamp trolls!" Thor bellowed

His hammer, the famed Mjöllnir, was out in a flash and smote down upon the head of the nearest troll, caving in its skull with a single blow so that its small amount of brain matter was pulped with fragments of the skull and the oozing mud-coloured liquid that passed for the troll's blood. Harry was pretty awed by the power that was in each tiny stroke, hell a small brain tap from that thing would probably cave in a human skull led alone a full swing.

Deciding that he didn't want to do anything that reminded Thor too much of his foster brother, Loki, Harry decided to stick to purely earthly magic. Pointing his wand at a log that was on the other side of particularly large group of swamp trolls Harry summoned it. The tree trunk came flying at the trolls, knocked them off their feet, and then continued towards Harry, trolls and all. Eyes widening Harry took in the incoming mass of swamp troll and wood and dived to the side, breaking out of the cover of his own cover.

The two tree trunks collided to form a troll sandwich but all a sudden one of the trolls swarming Thor stopped and sniffed at the air. Harry cursed when he realised that he was standing upwind of the trolls and his demigod scent was being wafted down towards them. Almost as one the majority of the trolls broke off from attacking Thor and charged Harry.

Eight trolls were now running hard at Harry, who immediately did the first thing that came to his mind. His wand was up in the air and a whip of fire formed from the end of it. Cracking it in style Harry flickered it forward where it seared through four of the trolls, separating their bodies at waist height.

The remaining four trolls were on him now and Harry desperately ducked a blow from one of them, wielding a huge wooden club. Seeing an opening he crawled through its legs, slashing at its thighs with his knife as he went through which caused the troll to collapse unable to support its weight on its injured legs. Suddenly there was a whizzing sound and Harry threw himself to the ground just as Thor' hammer came flying over his head. When Harry looked up from the ground he saw that his companion had finished off all the trolls that were left.

"You're a powerful wizard," Thor said grudgingly respectful, "the fire whip was supposed to one of the more powerful of a wizard's spells."

Harry accepted the praise, not wanting to tell the god that his ability to cast a fire whip was not because he was a wizard but rather because he was a demigod. Still two things that he had learnt from this whole thing was that his magic was growing more and more powerful, probably as his control over demigod powers became stronger as well, and that he was able to use his wand as a focus for his other magic.

Fitting his hammer back into his belt, the God of Thunder turned back to Harry, "those trolls were after you, once they had seen you they ignored me and went straight after you. Is this a common occurrence?"

Harry shrugged, "it happens often enough."

"Why?" Thor asked suspiciously

"They don't like me," Harry said jokingly.

Thor looked like he was trying to work something out before it looked like he had solved his problem for he looked up sharply.

"You're a demigod," the god said accusingly, "that's why the monster was after you and that was why I felt the presence of a god down in that pub."

Harry nodded, "yeah I am a demigod, though I don't know anything about a presence so possibly."

"You look awfully like him," Thor said looking at Harry closely.

Harry's heart stopped.

"Like who?" he asked innocently.

Thor frowned, "like Loki, it seems suspicious that the same day I come looking for Loki's presence I find someone who looks like him and has the same type of magic as he does. What's more the boy in question claims to be a demigod."

"I'm a wizard," Harry shrugged pretending to be unconvinced, "so that explains the whole magic thing, and I know who my parents where."

The god still looked suspiciously at Harry, "you do look very like him though, green eyes the same as his and your head is not unlike, although Loki prefers to have his long and straight rather than just a mop on top of his head."

"It is not a mop," Harry defended his hair fiercely, before he remembered something

In the inside of his jacket pocket he had a photo and he pulled it out to show the god, it was one of his parents on their wedding day. There was his father standing proud beside the wife who, although he did not know it yet, would bear a son that he would not be sure was his and for whom he would die before that son reached two years old.

"See," Harry said pointing to the picture whose occupants waved back merrily, "there is my mother from whom I got my green eyes and there is my father, whose hair looks exactly like mine in the same 'mop'!"

"They do look like you," Thor grudging admitted before eyeing Harry as if he was speculating over something.

"What is it?" Harry asked irritated.

Thor shook his head, "I was just wondering what a demigod was doing out on the run, and why he was not in the care of his divine parent."

Obviously Nordic divine parentage was taken more seriously than that of the Greek ones, for it sounded like Norse demigods lived with their godly parents rather than on earth, a sensible idea considering all the creatures and monsters that thrived down here hunting demigods. Harry decided he ought to act as if did not know how his divine parent was, it was certainly a better idea that admitting it.

"There is an Order down here on Earth," Harry said with distaste, "among the wizards that hunts demigods, they are dedicated to their destruction. It was from them that I found out about my heritage and it is from them that I am running after I escaped."

From what Harry could vaguely remember of Norse mythology, Thor was supposed to be a warrior god who was often tricked by Loki so Harry thought that he would be able to risk outright lies to him although he knew that he would have to come up with a story of half-truths for those that he could do risk doing so to. Thor on the other hand seemed to working up a rage as he heard of the Order's attempted genocide of all things divine and semi-divine.

"Mere mortals, puny little humans that dare to hunt out our kind and kill them," the sky was already darkening, "many of the other gods will not stand for this, some of them have had offspring of their own down here on Earth."

Harry was only too happy to help fuel the fire, "well they have been hunting out demigods for the last thousand years or so, so they might have caught one or two of them."

"Why did your divine parent not take you up to Asgard?" Thor demanded.

Harry shrugged, "as you said wizards have been hidden from your sight, perhaps it was possible that they did not know of my birth having met my mortal parent in the non-magical world, I don't know."

Thor nodded in agreement, "that is probably so. It is decided then!"

"What is?" Harry asked in confusion.

The god of Thunder smiled, "you are coming to Asgard with me and we will see whether we can find out who is your parent!"

* * *

**AN: This is just a short chapter to act as an introduction, more and longer chapters will follow. Harry's going to Asgard where hopefully he will get the rest I have been promising him for a long time. He has had a maniac last couple of weeks.**

**T Horn**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I own none of Harry Potter, Marvel or Percy Jackson. Disclaimer over here is the second chapter and with it Harry's introduction to Asgard.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Harry looked around in amazement, one moment they had been standing in the marsh where they had fought off the swamp trolls only to reappear somewhere else moments later. And this somewhere else really was somewhere else, it was totally unlike anything that he had ever seen, even Hogwarts paled in comparison. Harry wondered whether Olympus, where the Greek Gods lived was anything near as magnificent as the sight that was laid out before his eyes.

"Wow," was all Harry could say.

Thor smiled from beside him, "this is the home of your ancestors and is now your home."

Before him lay a road that led towards a mountain covered in buildings, spires and domes so that very little could be seen else. The dazzling gold of all the buildings, which all seemed to be covered in the precious metal, near blinded Harry as he looked out in awe over the home of the gods. Even the smallest things in Asgard seemed themselves to be made of the highest art and were beautiful without compare with anything on earth. The road that lay before seemed to be made out of glass with precious stones with the colours of all of the rainbow woven into it, creating the effect of the rainbow bridge of mythology.

Mounting two horses that were provided, the god and the demigod rode mostly in silence as they made their way along that road with Harry looking around him in awe and Thor pointing out particular buildings and people that they saw on their route.

"See him, that man there!" Thor pointed out, "his name's Sigmund, father of the mighty Sigurd the Dragonslayer, or Siegfried as he is also called. Over there that's Beowolf, slayer of the Grendel and its hideous mother."

"What are they all doing here?" Harry asked, looking around him in wonder.

He had little idea who any of those names were referring to, but he could guess that they were heroes, the Theseus and Perseus of the Nordic variety but that still didn't explain what they were doing wandering around Asgard. After all it wasn't like mere demigod heroes, dead or not, were allowed anywhere near Olympus without the expressed permission of the gods.

"They come here when they die, so long as they die in battle or else some noble way," Thor explained, "those who do so are allowed to go to the halls of my father at Valhalla or else to that of the Lady Freya at Folkvangr. It is a reward for their service and dedication."

To Harry that seemed a much better deal than with the Greeks, after all when a Greek hero died they went to Elysium, banished away somewhere out of sight by the gods as if they were broken toys, whereas here in Asgard they were welcomed as the heroes they were and allowed to live among the gods.

Finally they approached the building that seemed to their destination, it was huge and was built at the summit of one of the larger of the peaks. Its roofs glistened with gold and were decorated with beautiful carvings and frescos. Harry tried hard to take it all in, but found to do so at one sitting was nigh on impossible and he imagined that he would be exploring the city for days, just glazing at all those impressive buildings.

"My parents' palace," Thor said looking at it proudly, "it is from here that they govern over the nine realms, and from where when my time comes it shall be my job to do so."

Harry was unsure about what to say to that but it didn't matter for his companion's attention had been caught by something else. Thor frowned when he saw the crowd gathered outside the doors, it seemed like it was something that he had not been expecting. From what he had said he had been away from Asgard for almost a month now as he had been spending time with a girl down on Earth. Harry wondered whether he would be having any foster-cousins any time soon.

The crowd swiftly parted before the Prince, although both he and Harry had to dismount from their horses in order to push their way through. Harry at several points almost got lost in the crowd, it was rather hard to see as everyone else seemed to be a fair bit taller than he was which was not something he enjoyed.

Eventually, following Thor, Harry broke out to the front of the crowd and found himself standing at a railing much like the ones that were often found in museums with Thor by his side. Two thrones, one lower than the other, immediately caught Harry's attention and the couple sitting on them. On the lower throne was the figure of a woman, matronly but still at the same time very beautiful, Harry made a guess that this was Thor's mother, the Goddess Frigg. However it was the figure on the higher throne that really held Harry's eye, the figure of the All-Father himself.

Wisdom and power seemed to flow from the god as from the tales of the auras of wizards of great power in stories, a feeling that seemed to smother all the confidence and self-assurance in Harry leaving him with nothing but the feeling of awe, the feeling of being in the presence of a superior being. Harry fought the feeling though, desperately ridding it from his mind, if he was going to be able to fool these gods then being in awe of them most certainly would not help, though pretending to be could be a tactic he used, his trickster side of the brain added in.

Whilst Harry had been examining the thrones and their inhabitants, his companion had his gaze fixed on a very different object. For a small group of odd looking people were gathered in front of Odin's throne and there seemed to be a debate going on between their leader and the King of the Gods. Blue skinned, but not blue as in the colour but rather the blue of water or the sky on a particularly frosty twilight. Muscles and strength seemed to be all their bodies were built for, that and a temperature much lower than the one they were currently in for some of them looked very uncomfortable although their leader seemed sure to make sure that no sign of discomfort showed on his face.

They were mostly naked, apart from loincloths, though some wore ornaments of bronze in the form of bracelets, bracers or shoulder guards. Their leader though was different from the rest, various ridges ran down his forehead, chin and cheeks whilst his eyes gleamed red though not the red of Voldemort's more like the red that comes to an eye when they have something in them. They were enough however to cause Harry to know that he would be carefully considering running should he ever come face to face with this particular ice giant, cruelty seemed natural in the eyes of these people whoever they were, unlike those of a human.

"Ice giants!" Thor hissed.

Harry looked at them in surprise, he had read of course that one of the Nordic Gods' enemies were the Ice Giants but he had honestly imagined them to be more like the giants that the wizarding world had, that is to say over fifteen foot instead of the measly six or seven foot of the ones in front of them.

"I thought they were your enemies," Harry whispered back, "what are they doing here?"

Thor looked embarrassed, "my father is seeking to correct one of my mistakes!"

"Mistakes?" Harry asked.

"I foolish provoked war with the ice giants," the Thunder God replied, "by going down to Jotunheim unannounced and killing many of them. I was young and foolish and had yet to learn the true meaning of being a good leader."

"That sounds like the Thor all the stories talk about," Harry said without much thought.

The god frowned but seemed to agree with what Harry had said, quieting down as one of the ice giants reacted angrily at some insult that had been hurled from the crowd but was quickly hushed by the ice giant king. Harry was impressed with the absolute obedience with which he was obeyed for the other ice giant immediately cooled down in a moment. The leader then turned his attention back to the throne in front of him.

"You wish for peace, but we are happy with the war that we are fighting," the gravelly voice of the ice giant leader said proudly, "therefore you must give us something to persuade us to stop the war and yet you refuse to consider anything we demand. You must not wish for this war to be ended!"

"Give us a reasonable demand and we shall accept," the wise voice of the All-Father came from his throne.

Just listening to the power in the voice was enough to almost force Harry to his knees in awe but he managed to keep to his feet. Yet there was something else in the god's voice that Harry took some time to identify, but soon he knew what it was and where he had heard it before. It was tiredness of life, brought on by old age and the last time he had heard it was in Dumbledore, a tiredness brought on by the war with Voldemort. The All-Father was failing, and the ice giants knew it.

"I demand the weapon Mjolnir be handed over so that it can be used against my people no more!" the King of Jotunhiem demanded.

Harry raised his eyebrows at this, he knew only very little of Mjolnir of course and all he knew came from the legends but even then he knew enough to be sure that this demand could hardly be categorised as a reasonable demand and that led him to the conclusion that the ice giants really did not want to end the war and that of course raised the question then of why the giants had agreed to come to the talks at all. Was there someone they wanted to see in Asgard? Something they wanted to see? Or was it some sort of scouting mission disguised as a peace embassy?

"Certainly not," Thor interjected before his father could speak, "my father asked you for reasonable terms, not unreasonable ones."

Thor stepped out of the circle of those gathered to watch and Harry slipped into the place where he had been standing, not quite sure whether or not he should follow the God of Thunder. In the end he close to remain standing at the front of the crowd where he was. But people had already noticed that he had come with the Prince of Asgard and already eyes were turning on him and people were whispering, speculating about who he was.

"Ahh the great god Thor," the giant said mockingly, "here to see the mistakes you made cleared up by your father, how nice."

"I have already acknowledged my fault in this matter," Thor said stiffly.

The Ice Giant King's sneer showed no sign of disappearing, "and how was your little trip down to Midgard? Did you find your brother, the traitor Loki?"

Harry stiffened at the mention of his father but Thor's eyes blazed and the clouds above them began to thunder.

"Leave Loki out of this?" Thor said reining in his temper.

"Of course," the leader said, "but who is this new Asgardian, I have not seen him before and truly I must say that he looks like Loki, even if he is even more of a runt!"

They were talking about him. The ice giant made a sound deep in his throat that must have been a laugh, Harry had to resist himself from getting annoyed. He was a demigod and demigods should not be laughed at, no matter how by.

"It seems like a war with Asgard might be winnable after all," the giant king laughed, "seems that Asgardians are getting smaller and smaller!"

He and the rest of his entourage started to make more of the laughter noises and Harry's face began to redden slowly with anger, he would not be mocked by these savages. He could Thor's gaze and saw the god give an ever so slight shake of his head, but Harry was not going to listen to them. Seeing as he was here as a guest he would not kill these other guests of Asgard but they would not laugh at him again.

"What's the matter little Asgardian," the giant continued to mock, "lost a tongue?"

"You will lose more than that if you are not careful," Harry said quietly but proudly.

The king was no fool, he could tell that something was off about Harry from the confidence with which he spoke and so made no more attempt to provoke the young demigod, many of his companions however weren't and various catcalls and mocking insults were made. Harry was not afraid, ice could not stand against fire.

"You asked for it," Harry reminded them, taking a step forward.

Several of the Asgardian guards made to get in between the advancing Harry and the ice king and his retinue in order to protect him but a motion from Thor prevented him. Thor knew he was powerful and a statement of that power might be a perfect political push.

Gripping the tiny piece of wood in his fist that was the shrunken staff the goddess Hecate had given him, he glared at the ice giants looking each and every one of them in the eyes, before flicking his wrist. In an instant his staff grew to full size in his hand and various gasps and exclamations rang out through the crowd. The ice giants were not stupid, they knew that the staff meant they were facing a wizard and so cautiously took steps back. The only one who didn't, indeed who did nothing else but to look Harry in the eye, was their king.

It was at that moment that Harry finally connected the name, King Laufrey of the Ice Giants, the father of Loki and so Harry's grandfather. The young wizard could not help but grin, best to make a good showing in front of gramps. Harry was most certainly not finished with his little demonstration and so with another little flick, this time of his other wrist, small tendrils of fire crept out of them and started to make their way like slithering snakes or creeping vines across the marbled floor in the direction of the group. Slowly it made its towards the group of ice giants who began to group closer and closer together, none of them being mages powerful enough to overpower Harry's fire.

Harry allowed the tendrils to slowly make their way so that each and every one of the ice giants was slowly wrapped in several threads of fire. The tendrils hovered around a foot away from their bodies, close enough to hold them in place and prove Harry's dominance but not close enough for them to be hurt for Harry knew that that would not be welcomed much. Laufrey did not look amused and with a wave of his hand the fire tendrils around him slowly began to crystallise as it was frozen in place like an ice sculpture. Harry put more power into the particular tendril and soon it became a battle of wills and strength between the two as each poured more power into their element.

Glancing up into his grandfather's red eyes Harry saw the ice king regarding him with interest and curiosity. He also saw that the ice giant was not putting all his power into the spell, it was a test and he wanted to see how powerful Harry was. For a moment Harry wondered whether or not he could sense the ice giant blood that ran through Harry's veins or not, hoping that he didn't.

Either way it was time for plan two, if Laufrey wanted to test him then a showing is what he would get. From the tip of his staff burst a tongue of flame that slowly started to mould itself under Harry's orders into the shape of a fireball around the size of a basketball or a medium sized dog.

Thor's eyes widen, thinking that perhaps Harry meant to hurl the fireball at the ice giants but Harry had no such plans. He had no wish to start a war between Asgard and Jotunhiem, he imagined that it would not make him popular in his new home and that was something that he desired as much as possible. In addition the act of kinslaying was one of the worst that could be committed by any man or god, an act that was held in particular loathing by the Norse gods, who unlike the Greek ones, did not participant in it as much as other pantheons.

Bringing his staff down Harry connected the fireball with the tendril of flame that was encircling Laufrey and watched in joy as the fire did as he wished, combining together to form a smaller ball that made its way up the tendril melting the ice as it did so in an instant until once more the Ice Giant king was surrounded by flame, hotter and larger than before. With a nod of acceptance Laufrey released his opposition to Harry's spell and closed his eyes.

"I suppose you are going to demand an apology, I suppose?" he said in a bored sort of voice that disguised the way his eyes were flickering with excitement.

"That would be nice," Harry said flippantly, "being called a runt is not particularly pleasant."

Laufrey's eyes met his, "then you have your apology."

With a wave the fire disappeared and Harry refolded his staff make to its smaller size, slipping it into one of his pockets. He didn't imagine that he would get much more than that, but he could feel that even as the talks continued the dark blue eyes of the Ice Giant King barely left him. Being under such gaze had Harry fidgeting slightly. He wondered whether or not the ice giant sensed the ice giant blood in him, he hoped not as that would just make everything a lot more difficult.

Laufrey and his retainers were not the only ones looking at Harry with interest and suspicion but many among the Asgardians were doing so, clearly wondering what he was doing there and why they had not seen him before. As Thor had told him, it was incredibly rare for a Norse demigod to be unclaimed by their parents and left to be raised upon Midgard. Therefore Harry could understand those who looked at him with suspicion in their eyes, for such an old and powerful demigod to appear without being claimed by their parent was certainly warrant of caution.

Eventually the meeting came to an end and Harry looked around for Thor who had disappeared somewhere, leaving Harry with absolutely no idea where he was supposed to be. A couple of moments later the Thunder God reappeared.

"Father and Mother would like to see you now," Thor murmured to him.

Harry swallowed in apprehension, it was not every day that you were presented to the King and Queen of the Gods, a meeting made all the more scary by the fact that Harry had interrupted negotiations that could have resulted in a war between the gods and the ice giants. Thor seemed to sense Harry's apprehension because he clapped Harry on the back with one huge meaty hand.

"Don't worry, you won't be expected to know all the protocol and all that," Thor said reassuringly, "I have told them you were raised on Midgard which is part the reason why they want to see you. That and your dramatic showing this afternoon!"

Harry winced, "they angry about me disrupting the talks?"

"Not really," Thor shrugged, "they are a little annoyed that you couldn't control your temper, but then they are used to that with me around and what you did was practically restrained compared with what I would have done a couple of years ago. Also, that whole show was a little power play of Laufrey so they don't mind you mucking it up for him."

Fortunately for Harry he was not being presented in front of the assembled crowd but rather he followed the Thunder God to a smaller reception room. At the far side of the room was a throne, the throne of Asgard upon which was sat the Allfather, Odin King of the Gods. Standing to his side was his wife, the Lady Frigg, Mother of Creation. Harry followed in the steps of Thor, stopping in front of the thrones like he did and kneeling down low in mirror image of his foster uncle.

"Rise, my son," Odin said first to Thor, before turning to Harry, "and rise too, Harry Potter!"

The King of Asgard regarded Harry closely for several minutes as if deep in thought, probably trying to work out whom among his domain was Harry's parent. After several moments however he spoke.

"My son tells me that you are a demigod of Asgard," his voice rumbled around the room, "I now see that to be true. Not only that but you are a wizards, the oldest and dearest amongst our worshippers."

"No longer, I fear your Majesty," Harry said respectively, "for the Wizarding World has fallen centuries past to this new god from the east. His followers persecute my kind, those of us fortunate enough to be born from immortal stock."

Odin's face darkened, "yes I have heard from my son of this Order and its members. Tell me more of them!"

Harry did, telling the Allfather all he knew of the Order including that his ancestors had been among its original members, who its current leaders were and how he had managed to escape from them up until he had been found by Thor.

"And it is from this Order that you found out that you were a demigod," Odin clarified, "one of our kind has been most remiss in his duties!"

Unable to wipe the guilty expression off his face for an instant betrayed Harry, and the King of the Gods immediately demanded Harry to tell him what he had missed out.

"I already knew about the gods prior to meeting the Order," Harry admitted, "I ran into a couple of Greek demigods and they took me to their camp, thinking I was Greek instead of Norse, where I stayed for several months unclaimed by any of their gods. It was upon returning from the camp that I was attacked by the Order, and you know what happened from then on."

"The Greeks," Odin said almost to himself as he stroked his beard, deep in thought, "we have not heard of them in many a year. This is a serious matter, that must be given due consideration…"

"My lord husband," the Lady Frigg interrupted looking down at Harry's weary form, "perhaps it would be best for such a discussion to wait for a day or so until our new charge is fully rested so he can tell us all we need to know."

Her husband smiled at her thoughtfulness, "it is easy to tell that you are a mother, my dear, but what you say is true. Let the boy rest, Thor can you take him to his rooms."

The Thunder God nodded, "where will he be staying? As he has not been claimed by any of us."

The Allfather looked troubled for a moment before looking Harry in the eye with a look that seemed to Harry to divine his soul, measuring up the good and the bad that he saw.

"You shall be honoured young wizard; for the services you will give, for the troubles you have faced and for what you are. I see a great destiny for you," the Allfather proclaimed, "a destiny that needs guidance and protecting, for I fear that you hold the fates of us when Ragnorak comes. You need the guidance of a father and a mother, but we know not yours. Therefore let it be known throughout the nine realms that you are Harry Odinson, my foster son. Until such a time as your rightful parent claims you then you will stay here in the palace."

* * *

Next chapter: Lessons, meetings and a girl.

* * *

**AN: Well there it is, Harry has been adopted by Odin so now he is the Allfather's foster-son as well as his foster-grandson.**


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, sorry this took so long it was not meant to. Nevertheless I am back to this fic and hope to be updating a bit more regularly now. If there is anything you would like to see in this story in terms of plot, characters or pairings either PM me or else leave it in a review and if I like it I might include it.**

**Regarding the background it is a bit of both Avengers or Mythology, there are obvious Avenger/Marvel bits in here but I will also be adding in bits of Norse Mythology as I go. In terms of timeline for the Avengers bit it would be before Avengers Assemble but after Thor.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Harry stood high above the city gazing down at the many sights arranged below him. It was early morning and the Sun was just beginning to rise above the water, reflecting off the many metal surfaces of the buildings to form a rainbow like effect around the city.

Below him the early wakers were scurrying around doing their early chores whilst most of the city still slept. Even from up high he could pick up little details about those below, boys hurrying back furtively creeping back into their homes trying not to make a noise having returned from a night with their girls and now returning without a noise to avoid waking their parents. Others were trying to return equally furtively but were failing, stumbling all over the place and swearing noisily as they tripped on the stone pavements. Harry imaged that their heads were hurting and their stomachs churning with the amount of alcohol they had consumed.

To Harry what he saw was a comfort to him, for it seemed that the gods were not so different from men. To be sure they were more powerful and their culture was so very different, but at the same time there were so many similarities; they got drunk although it took a lot more than a normal man and young godlings still had to sneak around their parents. To be sure those below him were only the very lowest of Asgardian society but still Harry imagined that it couldn't be too different from the rest of them. Thor at the feast yesterday had shown that even god princes enjoyed getting riotously drunk, so much so that he had been reprimanded by the lady Frigg for setting such a bad example to his new foster-brother. Unfortunately minutes later it seemed as if Thor had not heard her, as he poured ale into Harry's own horn with a cheeky wink.

Suddenly there was a noise from behind him as the door opened almost noiselessly and a figure crept in. Harry stepped behind a pillar to observe whoever it was but stepped out when it proved to be only a servant.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," the girl said dropping into a curtsey, "I did not think you would be awake at this hour."

"I am an early riser," Harry replied.

The servant smiled fleetingly, "should I help Your Highness dress or would you prefer to have a bath drawn first."

"I can dress myself," Harry said quickly with a blush, before relenting, "although a bath would be very nice, thank you."

"Of course, my lord," the girl said with a curtsey, "I will have one drawn up for you."

Harry stopped the girl as she was about to leave, "wait, what's your name?"

"My name is Rhonda, my lord," she said before disappearing for the bath water.

Around ten minutes later Harry was sinking into some perfectly heated water, allowing the heat to sink in and sooth his aching muscles. He realised that it had been ages since he had last had a proper wash, one that was not done by spells alone, indeed he had not had one since he had fled from Hogwarts with Luke.

Just thinking about Luke made Harry feel slightly guilty, he could not help but feel that he had abandoned his friend. Meera had said that the Fates had determined that he had to be somewhere in order to fulfil some task and he knew that no god, Norse or Greek, would dare to cross the Fates, those that held the life strings of all mortal or immortal but he still could not help but wonder where the other demigod was or what the task he was going to carry out was.

Drying himself off with a towel Harry headed back into his bedroom. The suite of rooms he had been given were really quite something for as well as a bedroom and a washroom, he had his own personal dining room which could seat a dozen or so, a study filled with a whole load of histories and other books and a walk in wardrobe which contained among other things a whole load of different weaponry.

He slid his finger along axes blades, feeling their sharpness, and occasionally taking a sword or some other weapon off its rack and giving it a bit of a swing. He would need to work on this type of fighting he knew, for it was not one of his fortes.

Leaving his room hurried walked down huge corridors and through impressive halls as he made his way down to the bottom level of the palace. Several times he had to be pointed in the right direction but soon he found himself outside in the morning light. If Harry was to guess then he would say that it was around seven or eight in the morning, and so the sky was continuing to grow lighter. At the back of the palace was a fabulous gardens which were tended to by the lady Frigg, his new foster mother as well as his foster grandmother, who had an affinity with nature.

As he was walking though the young demigod heard clashing coming from behind a huge green hedge that formed one edge of the garden. Continuing to walk down it until he found a gap in it, Harry stepped through curious about what was causing the noise. Stepping out Harry found himself overlooking a huge green lawn which seemed to act as a training field from the various different training equipment and attack dummies arranged around it.

The noise however was coming from a small group of figures fighting with swords in the centre of the field. Two were women, one with the flaxen hair that seemed to be a common trait among the Asgardians but the other had raven black hair. The two women were fighting back to back with several men dressed in the uniform of the palace guards.

Harry watched in wonder at the intuition and shared awareness that the two fought with, as a strike came down on one of them she ducked in order to allow the other to block it for her whilst at the same time taking the legs from under one of their attackers. As the blond warrioress bent the raven haired one rolled over her back her legs catching one of the guards in the face whilst the final one was finished off with her blade at his throat, causing him to drop his hands and raise his hands in surrender.

"The ladies Sif and Freya are really something isn't they?" came a voice from behind him.

Harry turned and saw Odin standing behind him, having just come through the same gap in the hedge as he did, and was now watching as the two women picked up their weapons and headed over to a fountain for a drink.

"Your Majesty," Harry said with a bow, doing as best as he could to follow correct protocols.

"Harry," Odin said reproachfully, "I took you as my son, and that means I wish for you to act as one. Be respectful and follow etiquette when if public if you wish, but know that when we are alone I do not expect it. However that does not mean you should not be respectful."

"Yes, father," Harry said, the very words seeming odd coming from his mouth, before he turned his attention back to the women, "how are they?"

Odin smiled, "the Lady Sif is one of your brother's companions, she and the warriors three often fight by Thor's side though to mortals she is a goddess of the earth. Freya is one of the Vanir, another race of gods, she is not only a warrior goddess but also that of love and beauty and the Queen of the Valkyries."

"My skill with weapons seems incomparable," Harry admitted ruefully, "it was never my strongpoint."

"There is no shame in being beaten by a woman, Harry," Odin said seriously, "particularly if she is a goddess who has been training with weapons for thousands of years before you were born."

Harry smiled but tried to change the subject, "so when will breakfast be?"

"You are a prince of Asgard now, my son, you break your fast when you choose," The King of Asgard smiled, "but I see you are an early riser, a trait you share with neither of my sons, but one that I applaud. There is much to be seen in the morning that is hidden at all other times of the day, and rising early gives you an advantage over those who don't."

"The early bird catches the worm," Harry murmured.

"Quite so," the bearded king nodded, "but I wished to speak to you about other matters. I know your parent's abandonment must have been hard for you, but there is more at stake than just your feelings at stake in this issue. The gates between worlds has been closed for years, and it has been a decades since one of our own officially crossed over to Midgard."

Harry looked up, "officially?"

Odin frowned, "yes, Heimdall has said that aside from Thor none of the gods have gone down to Midgard in the last twenty years."

"So you are worried that my birth means that there is an unofficial way down?" Harry guessed.

"Yes," Odin nodded, "and if there are more of our kin stranded and abandoned down there like you were then they could easily fall into the hands of this Order of yours. I would not have it said that our race leave our own at the hands of those who would do us ill."

Harry nodded, "so what are you going to do about it?"

The king sighed, "I am not sure yet, I have told Thor that whenever he is down with his friends in Midgard he is to keep an eye open for more of our kind, but there could be issues."

"Issues?" Harry asked curious.

"We are not the only ones who have been hailed as gods by mankind," Odin said darkly, "and we and the other pantheons tend to not get on very well."

********The Palace********

Harry had no imagined that being a prince would be so completely and utterly horrible. Even a god prince had no control over what he did during his day, his mornings were spent with a whole variety of different tutors learning all that was required to be a good prince whilst his afternoons were normally spent with Harry leaving the training field with a hundred more bruises on his body then when he stepped on it.

This morning Harry was back at his studying, book studying as opposed to the other more preferable types. This however was different as his subject of study had come directly from the Allfather himself, much to the disapproval of Harry's teacher who said that his work should not be interfered by matters of state. Not surprisingly however he had been forced to give in and so Harry was studying the text he was studying at the moment, a whole pile of similar books on a chair beside him.

* * *

_In the days following the fall of Rome there was great strife between the realms of Olympus and Asgard. Seeing the moral decline of the Roman Empire, the Allfather decreed that Asgard would go to war on the side of those Germanic tribes who worshipped us. Our presence began to turn the tide of the war as with our power we were able to overwhelm the pitiful defences and sweep the forces of the Eternal City south of the Danube._

_However seeing the devastation that our forces wrecked on their civilised yet corrupt world the Roman counterparts of the gods of Olympus joined the war. Raising an army of demigods they sought to hold the flood of Germanic tribes southwards. From among them one demigod, the son of the King of the Gods himself, Aetius arose and for several years we were able to find no way through._

_But our time came to end the corruption of the Empire and set its people free from the bonds of its slavery. The willingness of many of the old Roman gods to fight was eroded after the Empire fell to this new religion of the east, and as a result many of the minor gods refused the demands of the Big Three to fight on the side of those who had deserted them. The final straw came when Pluto sided with the rebel minor gods, which led to an effective end of Olympian involvement in the war._

_Our victory was made certain when Aetius was assassinated by his own Emperor. Never again will we allow such a corrupt state as the Romans to arise and enslave others._

* * *

Now Harry knew why Odin had had this assigned for Harry's lessons, it must be a follow up on their discussion that morning whilst they had been on training fields. The interaction between the Greeks and the Asgardians was clearly not always peaceful.

His first training session had something that he had been dreading until it had become almost a thing of nightmares. To be sure that whilst he had been proficient at the use of a staff and a knife whilst at Camp Halfblood, whereas he was sure he would be outclassed in even those his weapons of choice. Unlike at the Camp his opponents here were not other demigods but the actual gods themselves.

It had been Thor who had taken command of the session, having decided at Harry's lunch and the Thunder God's breakfast that it was time he saw his new foster brother on the training field. Harry had been dragged out onto the field and watched with a little bit of trepidation as Thor begun his warm up, swinging his hammer around his body in a serious of arcs. Harry had been what that hammer had done to the swamp trolls the two of them had encountered in Midgard and he had no wish for that particular weapon to collide with his own body.

"Well that's a really mismatch in size," came a shout from the edge of the field, "too afraid to take us and so practising with children now!"

Both princes turned round and saw three figures standing there. All three of them were decked out in different sort of weapons, one who looked rather dashing with an elegant curled goatee had a thin sword that Harry knew was called a rapier whilst another rather large man with a giant red beard that reminded Harry of Hagrid's carried a huge axe whilst the third who was rather grim faced carried a whole variety of different weaponry.

"Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg!" Thor laughed, "my friends, you have returned. Father said that you were away on a mission and would not return for another month, but I see that is not so!"

He went over and embraced each one of them in turn. Harry followed around five metres behind, unsure was he was supposed to do in this situation but hoping that Thor would either introduce him or else return to their training session so that he was not forced to stand there like a fool whilst he caught up with his friends.

"Here there is someone you must meet," Thor boomed, "this is my new brother Harry,

Hogun, the grim faced one, looked at Harry, "he looks like your old brother!"

Harry stiffened slightly which was unnoticed by any of the three but a couple of observant eyes across the field overheard the comment and saw Harry's tiny move of discomfort. Those eyes quickly took a step back and disappeared into the shadow of the hedge.

"I know there is resemblance," Thor argued, "but they are so different as well."

********The Training Field*******

"This is not how I normally fight," Harry said with a scowl.

Harry had the thin rapier point at his throat once again, this last bout between him and the god with the elegant facial hair had lasted only a matter of seconds before Harry had found himself disarmed of his own weaponry and a weapon at his neck. This result was in following with the previous encounters between the two of them, all of which Harry had lost in under two minutes.

Frandel remained unperturbed, "oh and how do you normally prefer to fight then, little prince?"

Harry grinned, and drew his wand from where he had kept it hidden up his sleeve. Even in Asgard the young demigod had been making sure that he had it on him at all times, he had to wish to find himself surprised and unarmed.

"Furnunculus!" Harry cast, causing the surprised warrior to dodge out of the way.

The hex was followed by a series of other minor curses and jinxes, most of which his swordsman opponent was able to avoid with relative ease. However gradually he began to close down the distance between them until almost without Harry realising he slipped his way between a flurry of spells and raised his arm, the tip of his rapier resting on Harry's throat.

"A good duel, young prince," the man said with a laugh, "it has been a long time since I have fought a magic user, I am glad to see that my great skill has not diminished in the slightest."

"A magic user," Harry heard Hogun murmur to Thor, "the similarities only keep growing, Thor, make sure to keep an eye on him."

In reply the Thunder God glared at his friend, "he is my brother and your prince, Hogun, if you do not trust the Allfather's judgement that surely you can trust mine?"

"As you say," Hogun murmured back, unconvinced.

Harry knew that it would take more than just Thor's and Odin's trust and words to get the people of Asgard past their preconceptions of him stemming from his powers and his looks. His natural father had tormented Asgard for years and its inhabitants were not likely to forget it.

"I want to ask you a question about something I read in a book," Harry asked Thor as the two of them headed off the training field in the direction of the palace.

From behind them Harry heard a snort and he realised that the Warriors Three were following them and had overheard the comment. Obviously they thought little of their friend's knowledge in that area. Sure enough Thor looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"I would suggest that you ask either father or the librarian about that sort of thing," he replied, "it isn't quite my strongpoint."

"That's understating it," Hogun retorted drily, "as far as I am aware it has been several years since you last read a book and that was only because you were forced to do so."

"Where would Lord Odin be now?" Harry asked, hoping to extract himself before the inevitable argument began.

Thor glanced up at the sun to get an idea of the time, "he should be in his quarters in the palace, just knock and he will see you."

*********The Palace********

Finding his foster father's quarters were rather easier than he had first thought it would be. When he had first arrived he had imagined that the palace would be like Hogwarts in first year all over again except this time even worse, but then at Hogwarts there had not been servants to ask to show you the way.

The servant in question had led him to a huge carved door decorated with golden leaf showing the great tree and all of the seven realms. It really was quite something. In the centre of the door was a huge knocker shaped as a raven's head with a ring in its mouth. Gripping in Harry banged on the door.

Moments later it was opened and Harry bowed as his foster mother appeared at the door. Harry had only talked a little bit with the Lady Frigg, Thor had explained that Harry's physical resemblance to his brother Loki would be hard for his mother who had always loved Harry's father, seeing him as her own son regardless of his ice giant heritage.

"Your Majesty," Harry said with a bow.

He didn't know why but he found it a lot easier to call Odin father than it was to call the Lady Frigga by anything apart from her actual title.

"Harry," she said, "I have called your before to call me Mother."

"Yes…Mother," the young demigod said.

"You do look so much like him," she said mournfully, running her hand down his cheek.

Harry barely restrained the urge of flinch at the contact but some of his reaction must have shown because a look of sorrow and hurt crossed the Queen of the God's face for a moment before she removed her hand.

"I shall leave you to talk to my husband," she said putting a smile on her face that seemed forced, "he is out on the balcony."

She left, leaving Harry wondering whether he should have said something and bitterly regretting his reaction at her affectionate touch for it had only seemed to have hurt her more. Shaking such feelings from his head Harry crossed over to where Frigga had said Odin was, a balcony that overlooked the whole of the city below, offering an even better view that Harry's did.

"Father," Harry said formally, alerting his foster father to his presence.

The one-eyed King of Asgard turned, "Harry, you wish to ask me something?"

Harry nodded, "yes it was something that came up in the books you gave me for my lessons this morning and continuing from our discussion this morning."

"That was why I had ordered your tutor to assign the books I did," Odin replied, "I thought after our conversation you might find it interesting."

"I did," Harry said, before hesitating, "the book said that in the past Asgard and Olympus have been enemies, during like the fall of Rome. Is that true?"

"In the past we have been," the Allfather nodded, "under my rule Asgard often sided with those that fought against the forced civilisation of their world and cultures through empires such as the Greeks and Romans whilst the gods of Olympus tended to take the other side, which meant we were often enemies. Following the sack of Rome we were enemies until our isolation from Midgard over eight hundred years ago."

Harry found that his mouth was suddenly dry, "how would they react were you to start interfering in Midgard again? I mean what with Thor starting to visit the world and he said Loki was planning something big. What if it happens and they find out? Would they blame Asgard?"

"Yes, they would and there would be war," the Allfather sighed grimly, "a war of the gods!"

* * *

**AN: There it is, I am sorry this is a slightly shorter chapter then I would normally do but I just needed to get something done. For those that are wondering Aetius was an actual historical character responsible for the defeat of Attila the Hun.**

**T Horn**


End file.
